Pockio Expands Crypto Gift Card Service to Germany and France

Nov 6, 2014 at 23:30 UTCUpdated Nov 7, 2014 at 11:14 UTC. UK-based cryptocurrency gift card retailer Pockio has announced its international expansion to Germany and France, with more EU countries to come in the weeks ahead. The move means that bitcoin and altcoin users in those countries can shop at retailers not yet accepting digital currencies.

"We'll be targeting places with thriving cryptocurrency communities like the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Slovenia, that have really embraced bitcoin in particular."

While France recently got its own bitcoin advocacy centre, La Maison du Bitcoin, the country doesn't yet have a notable bitcoin scene.

"Bitcoin recognition and adoption has been consistently growing as the technology and concepts become easier to use and as coverage in the media has increased and this holds true globally As such, places like Germany and France, with large economies and populations will become significant, market players in the long-term as they discover the benefits of digital currencies."

Along with the addition of extra gift cards, Pockio has also improved its platform, cutting the order wait time.

"Pockio's service is fast and getting faster as we've worked very hard to reduce delivery times for gift cards. This has been a really important factor for our customers Eventually we want to be able to say that you will be able to buy absolutely anything you normally would with bitcoin."

Launched in January 2014, Pockio was, at the time, the first British service to exchange retailer gift cards for digital currencies.

Notably its original roster of eight cryptocurrencies accepted has now increased to 15, including dogecoin, litecoin and feathercoin, along with bitcoin.

While there are a number of US-based cryptocurrency gift card companies, such as Gyft and eGifter, the European market is still very small, with just the likes of Crypto de Change preventing Pockio having the region all to itself.

"Our plan, ultimately, is to expand to other continents like the US, where again, demand for somewhere to utilise digital currencies other than bitcoin is growing, but currently there are few options for people."